02-20-2007, 05:40 PM
http://www.guardian.co.uk/worldlatest/stor...6404418,00.html
<!--QuoteBegin-->QUOTE<!--QuoteEBegin--><b>Russia Warns Against Kosovo Independence</b>
Friday <b>February 9, 2007</b> 1:46 PM
By PAUL AMES
Associated Press Writer
SEVILLE, Spain (AP) - Russian Defense Minister Sergei Ivanov issued a strong warning Friday that granting independence to Kosovo could spark a ``chain reaction'' among other breakaway regions in Europe and the former Soviet Union.
Ivanov spoke before holding planned talks with his NATO counterparts, who have backed a plan drawn up by U.N. envoy Martti Ahtisaari proposing internationally supervised statehood for the separatist Serbian province.
Russia has long expressed reservations about Kosovo's separatist aspirations, and Ivanov's comments underscored differences between Russia and the West. The issue of Kosovo's status will be discussed next month at the U.N. Security Council.
<b>``If we imagine a situation where Kosovo achieves independence, then other people, people living in regions that are not recognized, will ask us: ``are we not as good as them?'' Ivanov told reporters. </b>
``This concerns obviously the post-Soviet space, but also regions in Europe,'' he said. ``This can create a chain reaction ... we must be careful not to open Pandora's box.''
(Good question Ivanov is asking. But he doesn't realise that this is precisely the intention of the west in what's happening in Kosovo. Kosovo is an experiment, an example model for others and the first in a string of planned seccessions. Besides, America <i>wants</i> Russia to break up more.
However, it also applies to non-European countries.)
Ivanov spoke after a meeting with German Defense Minister Franz Josef Jung, who restated Western support for Ahtisaari's recommendations and said NATO and Russia should work together to persuade the Serbs and Kosovo's ethnic Albanian majority to ``accept this proposal in the interest of a peaceful and stable development.''
Jung also rejected Serb requests for a delay in talks on the plan. ``I would wish that the Security Council can vote on this in March, and vote positively,'' he said.
Moscow has often warned that Kosovo's status will serve as precedent for other nations with similar cases, including several breakaway provinces in the ex-Soviet Union. The Kremlin has hinted that, were Kosovo to gain independence, two pro-Russian rebel regions in Georgia and a breakaway province in Moldova, which enjoy Moscow's tacit support, could follow suit.
(Which is exactly the plan.)
Serbian officials also have warned that an independent Kosovo could also serve as a precedent for independence movements elsewhere, notably in Spain's Basque Country or Catalonia.
Kosovo has been under U.N. and NATO administration since a 78-day NATO-led air war that halted a Serb crackdown on ethnic Albanian separatists in 1999.
Ethnic Albanians, who make up 90 percent of Kosovo's 2 million people, are seeking independence from Belgrade. But Serbia and Kosovo's Serb minority say the province is the heart of Serbia's ancient homeland and should remain within its borders.
In his talks with NATO, Ivanov was also expected to raise Russian concern over U.S. plans to place missile defense sites in Poland and the Czech Republic. Moscow has disputed U.S. assurances that the installations would be meant to deal with a potential threat from Iran and not pose any threat to Russia.
Ivanov offered Russian support for NATO's efforts to stabilize Afghanistan, but ruled out sending any troops to the country, where the Soviet Union lost around 15,000 troops in the 1980s.
``Russia is ready to help in any way possible, with the exception of sending troops to Afghanistan,'' he said.<!--QuoteEnd--><!--QuoteEEnd-->
<!--QuoteBegin-->QUOTE<!--QuoteEBegin--><b>Russia Warns Against Kosovo Independence</b>
Friday <b>February 9, 2007</b> 1:46 PM
By PAUL AMES
Associated Press Writer
SEVILLE, Spain (AP) - Russian Defense Minister Sergei Ivanov issued a strong warning Friday that granting independence to Kosovo could spark a ``chain reaction'' among other breakaway regions in Europe and the former Soviet Union.
Ivanov spoke before holding planned talks with his NATO counterparts, who have backed a plan drawn up by U.N. envoy Martti Ahtisaari proposing internationally supervised statehood for the separatist Serbian province.
Russia has long expressed reservations about Kosovo's separatist aspirations, and Ivanov's comments underscored differences between Russia and the West. The issue of Kosovo's status will be discussed next month at the U.N. Security Council.
<b>``If we imagine a situation where Kosovo achieves independence, then other people, people living in regions that are not recognized, will ask us: ``are we not as good as them?'' Ivanov told reporters. </b>
``This concerns obviously the post-Soviet space, but also regions in Europe,'' he said. ``This can create a chain reaction ... we must be careful not to open Pandora's box.''
(Good question Ivanov is asking. But he doesn't realise that this is precisely the intention of the west in what's happening in Kosovo. Kosovo is an experiment, an example model for others and the first in a string of planned seccessions. Besides, America <i>wants</i> Russia to break up more.
However, it also applies to non-European countries.)
Ivanov spoke after a meeting with German Defense Minister Franz Josef Jung, who restated Western support for Ahtisaari's recommendations and said NATO and Russia should work together to persuade the Serbs and Kosovo's ethnic Albanian majority to ``accept this proposal in the interest of a peaceful and stable development.''
Jung also rejected Serb requests for a delay in talks on the plan. ``I would wish that the Security Council can vote on this in March, and vote positively,'' he said.
Moscow has often warned that Kosovo's status will serve as precedent for other nations with similar cases, including several breakaway provinces in the ex-Soviet Union. The Kremlin has hinted that, were Kosovo to gain independence, two pro-Russian rebel regions in Georgia and a breakaway province in Moldova, which enjoy Moscow's tacit support, could follow suit.
(Which is exactly the plan.)
Serbian officials also have warned that an independent Kosovo could also serve as a precedent for independence movements elsewhere, notably in Spain's Basque Country or Catalonia.
Kosovo has been under U.N. and NATO administration since a 78-day NATO-led air war that halted a Serb crackdown on ethnic Albanian separatists in 1999.
Ethnic Albanians, who make up 90 percent of Kosovo's 2 million people, are seeking independence from Belgrade. But Serbia and Kosovo's Serb minority say the province is the heart of Serbia's ancient homeland and should remain within its borders.
In his talks with NATO, Ivanov was also expected to raise Russian concern over U.S. plans to place missile defense sites in Poland and the Czech Republic. Moscow has disputed U.S. assurances that the installations would be meant to deal with a potential threat from Iran and not pose any threat to Russia.
Ivanov offered Russian support for NATO's efforts to stabilize Afghanistan, but ruled out sending any troops to the country, where the Soviet Union lost around 15,000 troops in the 1980s.
``Russia is ready to help in any way possible, with the exception of sending troops to Afghanistan,'' he said.<!--QuoteEnd--><!--QuoteEEnd-->